Iraqi forces continued the fight against Islamic State terrorists in Mosul on Tuesday, as part of the operation to retake Iraq's second largest city from the terrorists group.

Most gains have been made by the special forces operating in the section of Mosul east of the Tigris river.

Iraqi forces assaulted ISIS-held villages across dusty fields south of Mosul on Tuesday, where suicide car bombers and snipers caused some two dozen casualties in a blatant reminder that militants still hold ground far from the main battlefield.

Major General Man Zed Ibrahim, from the Iraqi Special Forces, confirmed that ISIS (ISIL, IS, Daesh) terrorists were using improvised explosive devices and car bombs, but said that "their tactics are not enough, AP reports.

""They can't stop us," he added.

The government last month launched a massive campaign to retake Mosul, captured by IS group in 2014.

The campaign has been progressing slowly, mostly because of the presence inside Mosul of some one million civilians, preventing the Iraqi forces and their allies in a US-held coalition from using overwhelming firepower.